Joe Crowley: “I appreciate the good gentlewoman for placing into the record the fact that the Mayor of the city of New York and the…”

“I appreciate the good gentlewoman for placing into the record the fact that the Mayor of the city of New York and the Governor said we do not need the money right now. Maybe the gentlewoman can explain to us why it is, then, that the city of New York is cutting by 15 percent across the board, programs throughout New York City. It is an austerity budget. I do not have an answer for that, but maybe the gentlewoman does. The fact is we do not want to vote against this rule. We do not want to vote against the bill. But a promise that was made has been broken. We are not getting the full $20 billion funding to New York City that was promised early on. We know there are a lot of great things in this bill for our Nation. We know that our Nation is at war. We want to support and we will be supportive of our men and women overseas in the armed service. But the simple fact of the matter is that a promise was made to the city of New York and the State of New York and that promise is being broken right now. While our men and women are fighting in Central Asia to protect our quality of life and the sanctity of our country, they do so with the heavy memories of the martyrs of September 11. It is with a heavy heart that I ask my colleagues to oppose this rule, not to disrespect our Armed Forces, as has been said or at least been alluded to here today, but to respect the memory of those who lost their lives on September 11.”